Etowah County switches to Arrow Disposal for garbage collection; fees to rise
The Etowah County Commission on Tuesday approved a three-year contract with Arrow Disposal Services to handle the county’s residential solid waste collection and disposal. The changeover is effective April 1.
County officials hope to see an improvement in service compared to previous provider Waste Management, but it will come at a cost: a nearly $9 monthly increase in the fee for county residents in the first year, increasing to nearly $11 by the end of the agreement.
Those residents currently pay $14.49 a month for garbage service, and the rate hasn’t increased in three years. The rate moving forward with Arrow Disposal will be $23.45 in the first year, $24.45 in the second year and $25.45 in the third year.
That was the lowest bid, according to county officials. The next lowest was $26 a month, and that vendor would not commit beyond one year.
Still, Gentry Shows, vice president of marketing for Arrow Disposal, called it “the best deal out here.”
“Everything that you’ve seen bid in the last year has been north of $22,” Shows told commissioners after they went into a work session, before the contract was approved during the regular meeting.
“Sometimes I talk with some of the citizens who call and complain, and here’s the way I explain it,” he said. “... If you call a plumber to your house, you’re going to pay a minimum of $100 to $125 just for him to show up. We have a $350,000 truck and a $20 an hour driver, and we’re paying $30 a ton at the landfill — and we come to your house four times a month for about $5 or $6 a visit.”
Commission President Craig Inzer Jr., who noted that issues with garbage collection have been particularly acute in his district, said he understands there will be concerns about the increase, but added, “We have responsibly have gone out and sought a responsible vendor that will communicate.
“It should be a simple task, you pay your money and you get your trash picked up,” Inzer said. “But I’ve had more concerns about getting cans, getting trash picked up. It’s been a complete mess in my district, but we’ve done all we can, and the lowest bidder is Arrow.”
Arrow Disposal is an Alabama company, based in Abbeville, which serves clients in Alabama and Mississippi. Shows said it handles garbage collection for a dozen or so counties in each state (including Calhoun and DeKalb), and in Alabama also serves Attalla, Ashville, Ohatchee, Ragland and Steele.
Purchasing Accountant Melissa Lett, who recommended the bid, said she’d gotten letters of recommendation for Arrow Disposal from other counties, and as a resident of Attalla has experienced the company’s service and has had “no issues.”
Shows said Arrow Disposal is “looking forward to serving the county,” and has secured carts and trucks to be able to “hit the ground running.”
He said his company hopes to keep route dates close to where they are now, and will coordinate with Waste Management to ensure there’s no gap in residents having carts for their garbage. The goal is for Arrow Disposal to distribute its carts, by route dates, after Waste Management collects its carts on its final pickup days.
Updates will be posted on Etowah County's website.
Arrow Disposal also will continue setting out open-top containers periodically at locations in the county, for residents to dispose of trash.
Shows pledged that his company will be responsive to any issues; county officials mentioned communication issues with the previous vendor.
"We’re not perfect,” he said. “If you run trucks and have people, you’re going to have issues. But I think you’ll see the difference in dealing with us is that we react. We answer our phone, we take calls and we fix anything that needs to be fixed.”
This article originally appeared on The Gadsden Times: Etowah County switches to Arrow Disposal for garbage collection